Category Archives: Roof Types

Tiles are mankind’s oldest manufactured roofing material, with the first use of clay tiles dating back to Ancient China. Throughout history, their durability made them the go-to choice for roofs in the Middle East, Europe and Asia.

Today’s roofing authorities are reluctant to say exactly how long new tile roofs will last — they may last forever! 😉

Pricing Details

As with all roofing materials, but perhaps not so much as with tile, the upfront costs must be differentiated from the life-cycle costs. With the exception of some very high quality slate, clay tile is the most expensive roofing system you can get.

Count on a tile roof costing two times as much as a wood shake roof and four times more than asphalt shingles.

Depending on your region and the product you choose, expect to pay between $12.00 and $25.00 per square foot for a ceramic clay tile roof installed.

Concrete tiles are less expensive than clay, so they would be on the lower end of the above pricing range.

The color, style, and grade of the tile you choose, including its weight and thickness, is what will determine the actual cost of materials, while installation costs will vary, depending on your location.

Total Cost Installed

On average, a typical 2,000 square feet tile roof will cost between $25,000 and $45,000 to install, depending on the profile, roof difficulty, choice of material, and location.

Note: higher-end clay tiles can cost significantly more than low-end and mid-range tiles.

It’s not unheard of for a tile roof to cost as much as $50,000 installed, especially when you deal with a complex roof requiring a lot of tile cutting and additional labor.

Install Roof Shingles

$7,500Average price

Install Metal Roof

$14,500Average price

Install Flat Roof

$8,225Average price

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Historic Context and Larger Picture — Old School Tiles and Modern Revival

In the United States, tile roofing techniques traveled across the ocean with the Dutch on the East Coast and the Spanish missionaries along the Gulf Coast and out West.

Tiles were formed with clay and fired to produce the familiar orange-ish colors. Minerals could be infused into the baking process to create a colored tile and glazes could also be added to the natural terra cotta to increase the variety of colors.

With the abundance of trees in northern America, wood roofing soon replaced tile as a favorite house covering. Tile would go in and out of favor, owing to the vagaries of architectural styles.

In the mid-1800s, when flat-roofed Italianate villas became a momentary rage, the demand for tile surged.

In the 1920s American architects introduced Revival styles in Mediterranean, Spanish Colonial, Italian Renaissance and Mission designs which kick-started the clamor for tile roofs once again.

Spanish style clay tile roof on a stucco home in Florida

Today, clay and concrete are the two most common types of tiles used to cover roofs.

Clay tiles were historically hand-formed until the 1870s when tile making machines were first invented. Large manufacturing plants were then established in areas rich in clay such as the Ohio River Valley, northern Georgia and western New York.

Did you know? Today, almost all roofing tiles are machine-made.

The technology to fabricate tiles from cement became available in the 20th century. The gray concrete was impregnated with iron oxides to do duty as imitation terra cotta tile, imitation slate and even imitation wood shakes.

Tiles can be extruded to form nearly any shape. They can be churned out flat, as with shingles that overlap and interlock on a roof. They can be the familiar barrel style which are laid in vertical rows of half-circles. They can be S-tiles that have concave and convex troughs that overlap across a rooftop. No matter what shape tiles take, they are among the most decorative of all choices for roof coverings.

This comprehensive guide to roofing materials is all the research you need to evaluate the top choices for residential re-roofing and new construction projects in 2018.

Traditional PV solar panels on a new asphalt shingle roof

What to Expect: In this guide we’ll cover the following roofing options: asphalt shingles, wood shingles and shakes, metal roofing, concrete, clay, and fiber-cement tiles, natural and faux slate, and the new Tesla solar tiles.

For each residential roof type we cover the following topics:

An overview including how the roofing is made

Pros and cons including maintenance, repair, durability, options, home styles they work with and more

Types of Roofing Materials

These most common options cover more than 95 percent of residential roofs in the United States, so unless you’ve got something unusual in mind like solar tiles – oh, wait, we’ve included those – or a vegetative green roof, the options you’re considering are likely discussed here.

Asphalt shingles

More than 70 percent of all single-family homes in the US are roofed with asphalt shingles, though that number is slowly shrinking thanks to more energy-efficient and durable metal roofing.

Asphalt (composition) shingles dominate the market because they are affordable, offer a variety of attractive options and do a good job protecting homes from the elements.

There are two types of asphalt shingles:

Fiberglass shingles start with a fiberglass mesh mat that is covered in asphalt and topped with granules that provide color and reflect some of the sunlight. Shingles made with fiberglass are lightweight and resist tearing.

Organic asphalt shingles begin with paper, often recycled, that is saturated in asphalt and covered with granules. The shingles are heavier and harder to work with than fiberglass, but they generally offer better stability in high winds.

Although you can still see them on many roofs, organic shingles have been mostly phased out or discontinued over the course of last decade. Why? Manufactures have stopped making organic shingles due to their tendency to dry out, become less-waterproof and more prone to excess moisture absorption.

Pros and Cons of Asphalt Shingles

The reasons to choose asphalt shingles are:

Fiberglass shingles offer good fire protection

Look good on most any style home

Shingles are often the most affordable roofing option, especially in good/better ranges

The best asphalt shingles are a 30-year roof solution installed on homes located in moderate climates

The cheapest 3-tab shingles are an affordable way to dress up a home before putting on the market

Broad selection of colors and styles including affordable three-tab and architectural shingles that mimic shakes and slate

It’s disappointing, but understandable, that more people don’t consider themselves “roof connoisseurs.” After all, most homeowners take their roofs for granted, as Bob Dylan put it, “shelter from the storm.” Oh, but accounting for only a mere 3% of the total house construction cost, a roof is so much more than that! 😉

Aside from material selection, what really gives your roof personality is its design and construction; how the peaks and valleys merge together. Some people might not be aware they had multiple choices regarding roof design, but here are 20 of the most popular roof styles and their associated pros and cons.

Flat

Most flat roofs are not really 100% flat, but rather they are low-sloped roofs that appear flat, but have a little bit of a slope to allow for the run-off water. Flat roofs are commonly found in modern architecture style homes, commercial buildings, or home additions such as a sunroom.

As the name implies, a truly flat roof would have no pitch, which could lead to the obvious problem of rainwater pooling up and creating a stagnant spa area for mosquitoes, bacteria, mold, etc.

The rainwater problem is solved by drains, scuppers, and gutters to evacuate the water. Shingles and other traditional roofing materials are not viable options for flat slope roofs, so they are instead covered either by rubber membranes or a tar/asphalt coating that provides water protection.

PVC and TPO roofs are also viable options to explore. – They offer better longevity and durability compared to EPDM rubber roofs.

Gable

The term ‘gable’ refers to the triangle spot that is formed when the two pitched areas of your roof meet. It makes sense then that a gable style roof is basically one side up and the other side down similar to the roof on a traditional dog house.

Did you know? Roofing contractors love gable roofs because they involve covering only two flat surfaces without any hips or valleys and virtually every type of roofing material can be used.

The gable design is available in almost any type of roof pitch from low-slope ranch style homes to steep A-frames.

One of the only major problems with a gable roof is that they hang over creating eaves which are ripe for peeling off completely under strong winds.

Hipped

One of the biggest problems with the gable roof style is that the ends of the home have no shade or cover because there is only two roofing surfaces. The style of roof that fixes that problem is the hipped roof, defined as ‘when all sides slope downwards towards the walls’.

Hipped roofs usually have four sides – two with triangle shapes and two with trapezoids. One of the difficulties with a hipped roof is matching materials between the sides and ends. They do perform better in high wind areas however, especially the steeper the pitch.

Gablet (Dutch gable)

A casserole of roofs that solves the individual problems created in both the gabled and hipped design is the gablet (UK) or Dutch gable (North America) design.

A gablet basically puts a gabled roof on top of a hipped roof. The result is easier access to the lower portion (hipped) of the roof with the added benefits of natural light and attic or bedroom space (gable). Most type of materials can be used in a Dutch gable roof and in fact using variations in colors or types actually adds a nice contrast.

Jerkinhead

The jerkinhead design typically features mostly gable with a little bit of hipped influx mixed in. Gable roofs that are clipped into a short hipped design on the ends are structurally superior to wind uplift.

This design is frequently seen on the second story of a house where the clipped hip doesn’t disrupt the view from a dormer window.

Saltbox

The saltbox style roof is one that’s popular in New England and other Northeaster states. The asymmetrical design is trademarked by the front of the home having 2 stories compared to one story in the back.

The look resembles a profile view of the old salt boxes which utilized that design so it was easier to pour.

The long protrusion of the rear roof portion extending almost to the ground makes it great for rainwater to disperse from.

One of the cons includes rooms on the backside of the house having slanted ceilings, limiting tall people to use essentially half the house. The saltbox does provide more wind resistance than a standard gable house though – perfect if you can get around the unique looks.

Catslide

A catslide is very similar to a saltbox style roof except that they are often only used in portions of the back roof or on home additions. Catslides extend beyond the eaves of a building, creating more depth at the cost of height. A catslide might be used as an extension into a mudroom/entrance or a transition into a three-seasons/sun room.

Dormer

A dormer isn’t necessarily an independent roof type, but more of an addition to an existent roofing style. A dormer is a window and a roof (gabled, hipped, flat, among others) that protrudes from the existing slope of a roof. Like some contractor’s tool belts a dormer can either be functional or just for show.

A functional dormer creates usable space out of the roof of a building, adding natural light and headroom. A false dormer is blocked off from the interior and is only used to boost curb appeal from the exterior. Dormers are usually, but not always, roofed in the same material as the house. To many roofing contractors they are a nuisance and an extra spot where a leak could arise, but for homeowners they serve as a priceless reading nook or way to get morning sunshine. 🙂